Display devices



Aug. 22, 1961 H. wlNN DISPLAY DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. lO, 19.58

Aug. 22,A 1961 H, wlNN 2,997,181

DISPLAY DEVICES Filed Dec. 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,997,181 DISPLAY DEVICES Hans Winn, 40 Bruhlstrasse, Frankfurt am Main, Heddernheim, Germany Filed Dec. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 779,473 4 Claims. (Cl. 211-1.6)

This invention relates to display devices, and more specifically to a decoration and display device tot which articles can be attached so as to allow the articles to be movably displayed.

It has already been proposed to roll up and unroll advertisement surfaces, for example, by means of lazytongs. It has also been described to construct a pivotable carrier arm as lazy-tongs from which for example small articles are hung by means of string and moved back and forth as well as being pivoted to the left and right, but for this purpose a quite complicated mechanism must be put into operation.

In both these proposals the lazy-tongs serve only as transmission members for eiecting predetermined motions, but do not act as direct carriers for articles.

The object of the present invention is to provide a decoration and display device in which articles to be displayed are releasably attached directly to lazy-tongs which cause the articles to carry out a continuous rotary movement whilst at the same time, due to alternate eX- pansion and contraction of the lazy-tongs, these articles are displayed in continually changing positions relatively to an observer and to one another.

For the attainment of this object the articles to be displayed are releasably attached to arms of lazy-tongs and at least two lazy-tongs are attached to a common rotatable member, means being provided for effecting rotation of the lazy-tongs about the rotatable member with Simultaneous expansion and contraction of the lazy-tongs. In this way the articles to be displayed take part in all the movements of the alternately expanding and contracting lazy-tongs and simultaneously perform a rotary movement about the rotatable member. The rotation preferably takes place in elliptical, egg-shaped, trapeziumshaped or the like paths, and in lany case in such a way that the radial distance of the outer ends of the lazytongs from the central point of rotation varies periodically in the course of the rotation. In this way the articles attached to the lazy-tongs carry out a corresponding rotational movement, so that they appear in the field of view of the observer either in long lines close to one another or in slightly stepped formation. The articles then move for a short time without rotation directly towards the observer and then, owing to the contraction of the lazy-tongs, disappear rapidly to the side, new articles being brought into the eld of view by the neXt lazytongs. This possibility of two movements cancelling one another out for a time can provide very interesting and previously unknown optical effects.

According to another feature of the invention, at desired places on the lazy-tongs individual vertically expanding and contracting lazy-tongs can be arranged by means of fulcrum pins, the result of this construction being that articles mounted on the vertically expanding and contracting lazy-tongs are also raised and lowered during the course of the rotary movement.

According to another feature of the invention, the arms of the lazy-tongsfare not all of the same length, whereby during the cou-rse of the rotary movement parallelograms of different sizes are defined by the arms of the lazytongs. It is generally advantageous for the longer arms to be situated at the periphery of the decoration and display device.

According to yet another feature of the invention, some of the arms of the lazy-tongs are made in the form of `2,917,181 Patented Aug. 22, 1961 right-angle bars, which are advantageously provided with holes or slots, whereby the releasable attachment of the articles to the lazy-tongs is facilitated. Conveniently one of each pair of arms is made in the form of a right-angle bar and the other is in the conventional at form.

The means Vfor effecting rotation of the lazy-tongs can act either at the center of rotation or at the periphery of the lazy-tongs. For action at the center of rotation, it is possible for example for the lazy-tongs to -be guided, at its second pivot bolt from the center, in a substantially elliptical groove arranged at the bottom of the device. For laction at the periphery, the lazy-tongs can be attached, b-y the peripheral regions thereof, at equal distances apart to a belt, chain, band or other endless bandlike member which is carried by means of pulleys, toothed wheels or guide rollers in a peripheral path, conveniently a peripheral path lying in a groove.

The device in accordance with the invention can operate symmetrically on two sides, for example tot the left and right of the rotatable member as seen by the observer.

Three preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. l shows a schematic plan view of a decoration and display device with peripheral drive;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a decoration and display device, this embodiment including vertically disposed lazy-tongs;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of part of a modified decoration and display device `as shown in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 shows a schematic plan view of a decoration and display device which is driven from its center of rotation.

ln the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a decoration and display device comprises three lazy-tongs movably attached `by one of their ends to a common rotatable disc 1 pivoted about 1a pivot 1a. The lazy-tongs define parallelograms a, b, c increasing in size in the direction away from the disc 1. The other ends of the lazy-tongs are hung at equal distances apart from a peripheral endless drive chain 6 at 7, 8 and 9. The drive chain 6 passes over toothed wheels 2, 3, 5 and 4 in a substantially trapezium-shaped path and is driven by rotation of the toothed wheel 4, for example.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, lazy-tongs defining parallelograms a, b and c include three pairs of arms. One arm of each pair is a flat arm 14, 18 and 201 and the other arm of each of these three pairs is a perforated arm 13, 17 and 19 of L-shaped cross section for the reception of articles to be displayed. The lazy-tongs also include two flat arms 21 and 22 pivotally connected at 8` Which are arranged to complete the parallelograrn c. Attached to the arm 17 of L-shaped cross section and the flat arm 18 are upstanding lazy-tongs defining a parallelogram d and comprising arms 23, 24, 25 and 26 connected by means of fulcrum pins. Articles to be displayed can be placed on brackets attached to the arms 23 to 26, and these arms can carry advertisements or pictures. The end pair of arms, namely the arms 13 and 14, of the lazytongs defining the parallelograms a, b and c is movably connected to the rotatable disc 1 at an attachment place 12; two other similar lazy-tongs which are not shown are movably attached to the rotatable disc 1 at attachment places 10 and 11.

In the modification, shown in FIG. 3, of the decoration and display device shown in FIG. 2, a rotatable disc 1 is provided with attachment places 1d, 11 and 12, in the form of circular or elliptical holes, for three lazy-tongs. The lazy-tongs attached to the attachment place 12 includes an inner pair of arms comprising an unperforated right-angle bar 13 and an unperforated flat arm 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, ve lazy-tongs 30, `31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 are attached to a cylindrical rotatable member 27 by means of which the lazy-tongs are moved. The lazy-tongs are guided by means of guide bolts 29 at the intersection of one pair of arms of the lazy-tongs, these guide bolts engaging in a substantially elliptical guide groove 28 so that the distance between the guide bolts 29 and the cylindrical rotatable member 27 changes in a periodic manner to effect expansion and contraction of the lazy-tongs 30 to 35 as they rotate. Each of the lazy-tongs defines parallelograms increasing in size in the direction away from the member 27, namely the parallelograms a, al, b, b1, c, c1 and d, and can have articles to` be displayed releasably attached thereto.

The invention may be embodied in other speciic forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in Aall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A mechanical movement in a display device comprising a member rotatable about a xed axis of rotation, a plurality of lazy tong assemblies each operatively connected at one end to said member eccentrically of said xed axis of rotation, and means operatively connected to said lazy tong assemblies and guiding the lazy tong assemblies through a path of expansion and contraction radially in a xed path of movement about said axis of rotation and displaying items supported on said lazy tong assemblies in an erratic path of movement repeating during each complete revolution of said member about said axis of rotation, said means comprising an endless member non-uniformly circumposed about the axis of rotation of said member, said lazy tong assemblies being pivotally connected at said one end on said member on a pivot axis parallel to said axis of rotation, said lazy tong assemblies being pivotally connected to said endless ilexible member on a pivot axis parallel to said axis of rotation.

2. The structure of claim l; said lazy tong assemblies being disposed in a horizontal plane of movement, a vertically disposed lazy tong assembly pivotally mounted at its lower end on at least one of said lirst mentioned lazy tong assemblies for displaying items in a changing vertical path of movement in relation to expansion and contraction of said one rst mentioned lazy tong assembly.

3. The structure of claim l; said lazy tong assemblies comprising a plurality of pairs of intermediately pivoted arms pivotally connected at opposite ends to adjacent ends of adjacent pairs of intermediately pivoted arms, certain of said pairs of arms being of a greater length from their pivotal connections than other of said arms forming different sized parallelograms, the parallelograms varying `and increasing in area outwardly from said member.

4. The structure of claim 1; certain of said lazy tong assemblies including pairs of intermediately pivoted arms `of which at least one arm has an L-shaped cross-section and overlying another arm, said one arm having the L-shaped cross-section including mounting means upon which items are to be displayed may be detachably mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

